


To Dance With You

by aban_ataashi



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22261516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aban_ataashi/pseuds/aban_ataashi
Summary: Lady Josephine Montilyet and Inquisitor Adaar share a quiet moment at the Orlesian ball.
Relationships: Female Adaar/Josephine Montilyet, Female Inquisitor/Josephine Montilyet
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	To Dance With You

_Vivienne is not going to be happy with this,_ Meraad thought idly as she surveyed herself in the dim glow of the candlelit lamps lining the palace balcony. The lovely dress- a unique creation made by Vivienne’s personal seamstress, tailored specifically for Meraad’s stature- was certainly unsalvageable. The skirt itself had held together well enough, but the long and flowing train it once boasted had been ripped to ribbons during her run through the gardens. The dress was not her only concern, although it was the most expensive. Her hair, previously braided and pinned, was now hanging in long tangled strands, and the long silver chains she’d worn around her throat had been ripped clean off and were likely scattered in pieces across the ground below.

At least Meraad had managed to avoid splattering herself with blood. Or if she hadn’t, the red didn’t stand out against the dark material. Perhaps that was why Vivienne had recommended the black dress; she must have anticipated how unlikely it was for Meraad to get through an evening without using her daggers.

The quick clicking of heels drew Meraad out of her thoughts, and for a moment she worried her self-inspection was about to ruined by some bothersome partygoer- or worse, Vivienne herself. But Meraad quickly recognized the footsteps and relaxed as, sure enough, Josephine turned the corner.

The ambassador’s eyes lit up as she spotted Meraad in the shadows of the balcony. “I thought I might find you out here.”

“I needed a moment of peace,” Meraad answered, marveling at how despite everything that had transpired that night, Josephine still looked as radiant as ever in a cloud of golden silk. She approached Meraad with an easy smile, not a single hair out of place, as bright and confident as a butterfly on the breeze.

“Then you should take it while you can. Everyone inside is clamoring for an audience with the Inquisitor. They couldn’t be more delighted with you.”

Meraad waited for the punchline, and when none came realized Josephine was serious. She tilted her head curiously. “Even after all of the assassination?”

Now Josephine did laugh. “I forget you’ve never been to an Orlesian ball before. Had there been anything less, they would have been terribly disappointed. You are all they are speaking of.”

Meraad found that hard to believe. These were the same nobility who had gaped at her throughout the evening as they openly whispered _oxman_ while she was mere feet away. Now that she had just murdered a member of the royal family and upended the power balance of Orlais, she shuddered to think of what they were saying out of her earshot. “Perhaps it's best I stay out here, then, especially considering the mess I’ve made of my outfit. I would hate to give them more fodder for gossip.”

“You misunderstand, Inquisitor,” Josephine said, a smile still playing on the edge of her lips. “You are the hero of the hour. You can do no wrong- for the remainder of the night, at least. And I assure you, within the month the newest fashions from Val Royeaux will feature skirts of shredded ribbons.”

The very notion was ridiculous, but Meraad had to admit that nobody knew the workings of these things better than Josephine. “I should enjoy it while it lasts, then.”

“You should,” Josephine agreed. She glanced toward the ballroom doors, beyond which the soft strains of music could be heard, then back to Meraad. With a well-practiced curtsy, she held out her hand in invitation. “Would you honor me with a dance, Lady Adaar?”

There were plenty of reasons for Meraad to refuse- the state of her attire, the stares of the humans, the inevitable gossip, the fact that Meraad had killed her last dance partner scarcely an hour ago. Every reason withered into nothingness under the warmth and sincerity of Josephine’s gaze.

Meraad lightly took the offered hand in her own and brought it to her lips. “Nothing would please me more, Lady Montilyet.”


End file.
